“Beyond here, you’ll find
the kitchen and the bathroom. Rent will be due on the first of every month and
includes all the utilities… Green?” She poked me rather hard in the stomach
with her cane.
“Yes?” I questioned, being
brought back into the conversation rather abruptly. “Oh, I’ll just pay you cash
now for the whole remainder of the lease, if you don’t mind?”
“Mind?” She said
surprised. “I don’t mind getting a whole lot of cash all at once. Who would? I
suspect I’ll be minding in a few months once I’ve spent it all, but now? It’d
be just fine by me.”
I handed her an envelope
with what Howard had told me would be the remainder of the lease. She snatched
it, ripped it open, and started thumbing through the bills. This sort of
behavior has never bothered me. It’s important to be sure you are not being
swindled or short changed. Once satisfied that I had indeed given her the
correct amount, She grinned ruefully.
“Well seems eveythin’s in
order here. The keys to the place are on the nightstand in the bedroom. I left
a note with my phone number on it. Call anytime day or night if you need
anything. I suspect it’s hard showing up in a new city not knowing anyone. But
you look a cunning type. I bet you’ll find your feet faster than you know it. I
imagine you’ll want to get settled in and find some grub. I’d suggest the Verdé
Mart just up the street in the Quarter. They make a wonderful Po-boy. Something
to put some meat on your skinny bones.” She gave a wry smile at this last
statement.
“Thank you so much Mrs.
Flemming…”
“Johanna, dear.” She
interjected.
“Sorry, Johanna. It’s been
a pleasure.” I smiled.
“Oh, the pleasures all
mine.” She said as she clutched the envelope. “Just make sure you don’t go
round getting the police all up in here. I don’t like having to deal with them
much.”
“I’ll be sure to keep my
nose clean. Good day Johanna.”
“Good day Green.” She
ambled out of the door and shut it gently behind herself.
I walked over to the door
and bolted the lock. It was finally time to decompress. I deposited my bag on
the table by the reading chair and slumped into it. This chair was brilliant. Whoever
had crafted it was pure genius. Or perhaps it was the decades that people’s
bodies had carved out the perfect feeling for sitting on a hot summer day to
read or nap. I looked out the window by the chair, there was a blue house next
door, but above that I could see the sky with a few lazy clouds hanging around.
For one brief moment everything felt just right.
My bag slipped off the
table and spewed onto the floor the four stories I had received at this point.
I was sure before I left to set up a mail forward for the new ones, since
whoever V was, they obviously weren’t getting them, or possibly would
appreciate them the way that I was.
-V-
No comments:
Post a Comment